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FACTFILE
April 2003,
Best friend Philip Heggarty and Derek Bennett were out
together drinking in the pubs of Swansea, They then went
on to a party. They then drove back to Heggarty's home
in Clare Road in the Grangetown area of Swansea.
once there
Bennett passed out on the sofa and was violently
attacked with what is believed to be a hammer, no murder
weapon was ever discovered.
The motive was
greed, Bennett was carrying up to £3,00 in cash and a
further £10,000 in drugs.
After the
incident it was found that Heggarty had paid off a debt
of £1,500 that same day, and a stash of drugs were found
in his girlfriends flat.
Firemen
discovered Mr Bennett's body in the back of his blazing
Renault Laguna in the car park of the Earl Haig British
Legion Club in Whitchurch, Cardiff, two days later, it
had been wrapped in a rug, previously from Heggarty's
front room.
The body was so badly burnt, Mr Bennett could only be
identified from dental records. His skull had been
broken over 20 places.
July 2004,
The jury at Swansea Crown court, were told that Mr
Bennett's blood was found inside Heggarty's flat in
Clare Road in Grangetown, and on clothes he was wearing
on the night of the killing.
Heggarty's fingerprints were also discovered in the
blood on a wall in the cellar of the flat
Friday 23rd
July 2004, Heggarty is found guilty of murder.
Sentencing
Heggarty, the judge Mr Justice Roderick Evans described
him as a "dangerous man". The judge added, the
recommended starting point of 30 years for a crime like
Heggarty's was "inadequate".
the court
heard of Heggarty's previous convictions which included
attempted murder and several violent robberies in which
he targeted elderly people.
Heggarty goes
onto the list held by the Home Office, of prisoners who
will serve a 'Whole Life Tariff'.
See list here >>
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